Process and machine for knitting plated fabric



March 11, 1930. H. E. HOUSEMAN PROCESS AND MACHINE FOR KNITTING PLATED FABRIC Filed J1me 1928 2 Sheets-Shee l March 11, 1.930.

H. E. HOUSEMAN 1,750,008 PROCESS AND MA GHINE- FOR KNITTING PLATED FABRIC File J ne 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 2 v ,5, II I Afro/ME ya.

Patented Mar. 11,1939

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HAROLD-E. HOUSEMAN, OF EDGE MOOR, DELAWARE, ASSIGNORJIO STANDARD-TRUMP BROS. MACHINE COMPANY, OF WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE PROCESS AND MACHINE FOR KNITTING PLATED FABRIC Application filed June 2, 1929. Serial No. 282,306.

The object of my invention is to produce,

in a knitted fabric, vertical stripes, and other more elaborate designs and figures, by wrapping yarns around certain needles, thereby producing an embroidery efli'ect. It is known to produce these stripes and fi ured eiiects by providing yarn guides, one i Oreach needle or groups of needles, which are caused to warp the arns around their respective 11696188. Mec anism of this character is shown in the patent to Langham, No. 178,167,

dated May 30, 1876.

This principle has not been, to my knowledge, applied except to machines which do not frequently change yarns at the main knitting feed. In applying it to a revolving cylinder, yarn changing type of machine equipped with clamping and-cutting mechanism within the needle cylinder, T have devised a method and means which are substantially different from methods and means new in use. p

it is the usual practice to wrap the yarn about the needle by the action *of the yarn guide alone, i. e. by causing it to ass'around the hooked end of the needle. n my new method, this result is obtained by the cooperative action of needle and yarn guide; and r it com rises pressing the hooked. end of the needle ack out of line with the regular circle of needles, and in timed relation therewith giving the yarn guide a lateral move ment. By employing this method, I have been able to greatly simplify the pattern mechanism necessary to selectively wrap the yarns about the needles. Instead of selectively actuating the yarn guides, I selectively ress back the hook ends of the needles. l he yarn guides are all given a lateral movement at each revolution-of the machine but only those needles which are pushed back receive the wrapping yarns. i

The drawings show a preferred embodiment. of my machine invention; the. mechanism being especially well adapted also to carry out my new process.

Fig. 1 is a plan view of part of the mechanism embodym my invention.

Fig. 2is an e ovation, partly broken away, of the mechanism of Flg. 1.

of gear 'pg Fig. 3 is an elevational view of 1,

taken in the direction of the arrow 3 in Fi 1. Y

Fig.4 is a detail view of one of the special I yarn guides and one of its actuating cams.

Fig. 5 is an elevational view, partly in section, of a part of the needle cylinder, the special yarn guides and their actuatin cams and the} selectively operated needle de ecting means.

Fig. 6 is a detail view of one of the special yarn guides. I

Fig. 7 isa diagram of the knitting cams, the latch ring and one of the needles, the dotted line representing the path of the hook en s of the needles as they approach and reach the knitting point.

Fig. 8 is a detail view of a modification peranltting an increased swing of a yarn The revoluble needle cylinder a is mounted on the machine frame band carries at its lower end gear teeth indicated at 0, Fig. 1. Driving pulley 0?, by means of bevel gears, imparts motion to the large gear 6, which drives a pinion f. On the-same shaft with pinion are secured to gears g and 71., one

above t e other. Gear 9 drives the needle cylinder through the idle pinion z", and gear 7 drivesa gear j of equal diameter turnable on a post I; rigidly mounted ina bracket m attached to the frame of the machine. By means of a sleeve a, gear j rotates a drum gear 0, the teeth of which are in mesh with a gear of equal diameter p secured to a vertical spindle 1 mounted centrally above the needle cylinder. By the foregoing arran ement, by meansof gears g and h, the nee le cylinder and vertical spindle 1 are rotated in the same direction and at the same speed.

Spindle 1 is-mounted in an upper bearing on an arm 4 ri 'dly carried by est la. The lower end of t e spindle is hel in vertical alignment by its ear p turning in a circular frame a vertical y slidable on two posts t carried by the machine frame. Drum gear o is provided in order to allow the raising spindle 1 and parts carried thereon, out o operative relation with the needle cylinder when it is desired, as m the throwing back of the latch ring at the end of the knlttlng operation.

Attached to shaft 1 is a dial 2 on the periphery of which holes are drilled to receive the pivoted extensions 3 of special yarn guides 4. These guides are free to swing laterally (arcuately relative to the needle circle), their movement being limited by the sides of slots 5 provided in the dial. A spring 6 normally holds its yarn guide against one side of its slot. The guide is moved over a ainst the other side of its slot by contact w1th cams 7 or 8. The arn guides are kept in place by a ring 9 WlllCl'l is fastened to the dial after the guides have been assembled in their proper'pivot holes in accordance with the pattern to be made.

The cones of wrapping yarn are carried on a bobbin stand 13 which is attached to shaft 1. The yarn 10 passes down from one of the cones through suitable guides and feeds through a hole 14 in the rear end of yarn guide 4 and thence along the side of the guide and back through a hole 15 in the front of the guide to the needle. 7

At every revolution of the machine, except as hereinafter specified, all of the yarn guides 4 are at a certain point moved laterally by cam 7 or 8 or both cams and then back again by their respective springs 6. If the needle 16 which is fed by a yarn guide is pressed back just before this movement of the'guide takes place, the wrapping yarn carried by the guide will be laid across the front of the needle within the hook and because it is wrapped closely around the hook. it will, when looped into the fabric along with the main yarn or yarns, appear on-the surface of the finished fabric.

The wrapping yarn may be wrapped about a needle any time during the revolution, but I prefer to wrap the yarn about the needle just prior to the needle taking the main yarn from the re ular feed. As explained above, the yarn guide is normally held by its spring 6 against one side of. its slot 5. When the needle and its yarn guide, which are traveling in unison, reach the wrapping point, the following operations occur. First, the needle is pressed back as shown in Fig. 5. This is closely followed by a lateral movement of the yarn guide carried by cam 7 or 8. The needle is then released and returns into line with the other needles, after which the yarn guide is returned to its normal position by its spring 6. The yarn carried by the guide has thus been wrapped completely around the needle. This yarn will then trail inside of the fabric along this needle wale until it is again wrapped around the needle. These guides may be assembled,

- one for each needle, or a guide may be given enough side sway to cover two or three need es. The yarn carried by the guide will be, of course, Wrapped around only the needle or needles which are pressed back.

I have already stated that normally all of the guides are moved at the same point during every revolution of the needle cylinder. It is sometimes desirable to knit a stocking having a plain sole in which no pattern appears. This can be taken care of either by stopping the pressing back of needles which knit the sole or by stopping the movement junction with such needles. This latter method is the one which I prefer to employ and is accomplished in the following manner.

The guides are formed with two projections 11 and 12 against which the cams 7 and 8 bear to swing them against the pressure of their springs. The projection 11 is broken ofit' of the guides which are used with the sole needles, and the projection 12 is broken off of the guides which are used with the instep needles. The cam 8, therefore, moves the guides which wrap yarns in the sole and the cam 7 moves the guides which wrap yarns in the instep. During the knitting of the leg of the stocking both cams 7 and 8 are active moving all the guides. During the knitting of the foot, however. cam 8 is rendered inactive, with the result that no sole yarn guides are actuated.

When the heel and toe of the stocking are being knit the needle cylinder is oscillated and I prefer to have all of the yarn guides inactive at this time. This is accomplished by rendering both cams 7 and 8 inactive. Cams 7 and 8 may be rendered active or inactive by means of simple connections to the usual pattern mechanism. Thus each cam may comprise one arm of a bell crank lever 17, which is operable bya rod 18 that may be actuated, by pattern mechanism, to lift the cam out of operative position at the proper-time, the cam beingreturned to operative position by means of a spring 19.

The wrapping yarns are led to the guides in such a manner as to permit the use of an ordinary yarn clamp and cutter to clamp and cut the main yarns.

Any suitable means for deflecting the needles may be used. The means shown in Fig. 5 is that set forth in an application filed by Wilbur L. Houseman July 29, 1927, Ser. No.

209,383. Fastened to the needle cylinder is the sinker dial 20 carrying the sinkcrs or web holders 21. Below and secured to the sinker 'dial is a slotted jack dial 22. Needle pressers 23 are placed in the needle cylinder slots after theneedles are inserted and are held in place by sprin bands 24. The needle cylinderslots are 0 eater than normal depth at their upper en s, forming shoulders 25. The lower ends of pressers 23 bear against the needles on the level of spring bands 24. The upper ends of pressers 23 of the yarn guides which are used in con-' dial slots and are held lightly in contact withbear against the needles above shoulder 25.

The jack dial 22 has radial slots correspondingin number with the slots in the needle cylinder. Jacks 28 are inserted in the jack their corresponding needle pressers 23 by a spring band 26. A threaded clamp ring 27 holds the jacks in their proper vertical posivolve but are movable into and out of the paths of thejack butts 29 of corresponding height.

When anycam 30 is moved and held in the path of jack butts 29 of a corresponding height, the corresponding jacks 28, as the needle cylinder rotates, will be pushed in and rock the corres onding pushers 23, thereby giishing in or ack the corresponding nee- Suitable automatic pattern-controlled mechanism for actuatingthe cams 30 may be provided, such as the mechanism set forth in an application filed by me July 29, 1927, Sen. No. 209,382. Any such mechanism may be arranged to stop the pressingback of needles which knit the sole, thereby making it unnecessary, in order to knit a stocking with a plain sole, to stop the movement of the yarn guides, as heretofore described.

What I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is 1. In a knitting machine, a circular series of upright independent needles adapted to be reciprocated vertically to knit, means to effect a reciprocatory radial movement of the yarn receiving end of a needle, a wrapping yarn carrier means to effect a reciprocatory movement of the wrapping yarn carrier back and forth along the circle of normally positioned needles in such timed and spaced relation to said movement of the yarn receiving end of the needle as to cause the wrapping yarn to be wrapped around the needle, and means restraining the wrapping yarn carrier from radial movement.

2. In a knitting machine, a circular series of upright "independent needles adapted" to be reciprocated vertically to knit, means to efi'ect a reciprocatory radial movement of the yarn receiving end of a needle, a wrapping yarn carrier, means to eflfect a reciprocatory movement of the wrapping yarn carrier back and forth along the circle of normally positioned needles in such timed and spaced relation to said movement of the yarn receiving end of the needle as to cause the wrapping yarn to be wrapped around the needle, said wrappin yarn carrier being so positioned that its ceding eye is above the upper end r of said needle durin said radial reciprocating movement of sai needle.

3. In a knitting i .chine, a circular series of uprightindep'enuent'nee'dles adapted to be reciprocated vertically to knit, a wrapping yarn carrier Whose yarn feedingeyc extends inside the circle of needles when the latter are in their normal knitting plane, means to selectively move the yarn receiving end of a needle radially inward beyond the yarn feeding eye of the wrapping yarn carrier, and means to effect a reciprocating movement of the wrapping yarn carrier back and forth along and within the circle of normally positioned needles in such timed and spaced relation to said radial movement of the yarn receiving end of the needle, and

while the said end of the needle is below said feed eye, that the wrapping yarn Wraps around the needle without any radial movement of the yarn feeding eye of the wrapping yarn carrier.

4. In a knitting machine, a needle cylinder, a circular series of upright independent needles carried by said cylinder and adapted to be reciprocated vertically to knit, means to effect a movement of the receiving end of a needle away from and back to the normal knitting plane, a dial positioned within the circle of needles, means to rotate the dial synchronously with the needlecylinder, a wrapping yarn carrier carried by the dial, and means to effect a movement of the wrapping yarn carrier back and forth along the circle of normally positioned needles in such timed and spaced relation to said movement of the yarn receiving end of said needle asv to cause the wrapping yarn to be wrapped around the (needle.

5. The process of needle wrapping falgw ric formed upon a circular series of uprighfi inde endent needles adapted to reciprocate vertlcally to knit, which comprises impartlng a reciprocating radial movement to the yarn receiving end of a. needle and synchronously therewith feeding wrapping yarn to said needle-while reciprocatingthe point of feed of the wrapping yarn above said needle and in a vertical plane extending between the outer and inner positions of the yarn-receiving end of said needle.

6. The process of needle wrapping in fabric formed upon a circular series of independent upright needles adapted to reciprocate vertically to knit, which comprises feeding wrapping yarn to a selected needle and maintaining the point of feed in a substantially constant horizontal plane and at a substantially constant distance from the center of the circle of needles, imparting a reciprocating radial movement to the yarn receiving end of said selected needle while said end is below said horizontal plane and synchronously therewith feeding wrapping yarn to said needle while reciprocating it in a vertical plane extending between the outer and inner positions of the yarn receiving end of said needle.

7. In a knitting machine, a series of independent needles adapted to'be reciprocated engthwise to knit, two wrap ing yarn carriers arranged in operative re ations respectively to needles and each movable back and forth laterally, means to eifect a movement of the receiving ends of certain needles away from and back to the normal needle plane in such timed and spaced relation to the movements of their respective yarn carriers as to cause the wrapping yarns carried by said yarn carriers to be wrapped around their respective needles, and cams adapted to effect the specified movement of the two yarn carriers, one cam acting upon one yarn carrier and the other cam acting u on the other yarn carrier, and means to ren er one or both of said cams inactive.

8. In a machine for knitting hosiery, a series of independent needles adapted to be reciprocated lengthwise to knit, sole wrapping yarn carriers arranged in operative relation to needles adapted to knit the sole, toe, heel and rear of the leg, instep wrapping yarn carriers arranged in operative relation to needles adapted to knit the inste and front part of the leg, said yarn carriers eing movable back and forth laterally, means to effect a movement of certain needles away from and back to the normal knitting plane in such timed and spaced relation to the movements of their respective yarn carriers as to cause u the wrapping yarns carried by said yarn carriers to e wrapped around the respective needles, the two specified series of yarn carriers being provided with differently positioned butts, two yarn carrier actuating cams adapted to respectively engage differently positioned butts, and means to render both cams active or inactive or one cam active and the other inactive, whereby all the wrapping yarn carriers are actuable whenboth cams are rendered operative while only the instep wrapping yarn carriers are actuable when only its actuating cam is rendered operative and none of the wrapping yarn carriers are actuable when neither cam is rendered operative. I

In testimony of which invention, I have hereunto set my hand, at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on this 31st day of May, 1928.

HAROLD E. HOUSEMAN. 

